1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a voice messaging system capable of receiving and storing call related information and more particulary, to a voice messaging system which indicates to the user that a remote log-in has occurred, which retains that call related information associated with the remote log-in that has deleted or otherwise affected a particular voice message and/or the call information relating to the deleted or affected voice message.
2. Description of Related Art
Voice messaging systems have become an essential part of our society. For instance, voice mail type systems installed with private branch exchanges (PBXs) are found in most businesses, while home usage of telephone answering devices is ever-increasing.
Many telephone companies offer a special service which transmits call related information to a called party. One such service is called Caller ID. Using Type I Caller ID which is transmitted while the telephone is on-hook, typically a caller's telephone number and/or household name is transmitted by the telephone company to the called party generally during the silent interval between the first two rings. Type II caller ID receives caller ID information in an off-hook condition.
When an incoming call is answered by the voice messaging system, and if the caller leaves a voice message, the voice message and call related information associated therewith may be stored in the voice messaging system to be retrieved by the user during playback of the voice message. Many voice messaging systems may be accessed remotely to playback and/or delete recorded voice messages from a remote location. However, when a voice mailbox of a voice mail system, or a particular telephone answering device (TAD) is shared by a number of users, e.g., a large family, it may be undesirable for one user to delete voice messages remotely, particularly if they were intended for another user, and particularly if the other users are unaware of the remote deletion of the voice message. In addition, with voice messaging systems which are accessible for playback from a remote location, security issues may arise when unknown remote users access, playback, and/or delete voice messages. There is no record of an unauthorized remote deletion of a voice message.
One conventional Type I/Type II Caller ID system is shown in FIG. 4 and includes customer premises equipment 111 having a call information detector/receiver 112 which displays the telephone number or other call related information of a calling party received from the central office 113 over the telephone line 114. For Type I functionality, when the customer premises equipment 111 is on-hook, the telephone number or other call related information of the calling party is detected by the call information detector 112 during the silent interval between the first and second rings and is compared with telephone numbers or other call related information stored in a call related information directory 116 by a controller 118. For Type II functionality, i.e., while in a call waiting mode, the call related information follows a caller ID alerting signal sequence (CAS tones). Controller 118 is a processor, e.g., a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, or a microcontroller. The call related information directory 116 is stored in Random Access Memory (RAM). When the incoming telephone number or other call related information from a calling party matches a telephone number or other call information in the call related information directory 116, that telephone number and/or the calling party's household name associated with that telephone number are displayed on a display device 128. Alternatively, the call information directory is located at the central office and household name or other call related information is transmitted to the customer premises equipment 111 in the known manner. The TAD includes a voice recorder/playback circuit 120 having a standard microphone 122 and speaker 124 electrically connected thereto. An alpha-numeric keypad 126 is also provided for programing functions.
There is a need, however, to add flexibility to a voice messaging system so as to not only receive and store call related information but, in addition, to indicate to the user that a remote log-in has occurred and to retain call related information associated with the remote log-in which is responsible for remotely deleting or otherwise affecting the status of a received voice message and/or call information relating to the deleted or affected voice message.